Edging picker

ABSTRACT

An edging picker for use in conjunction with a double arbor edger or any machine that saws relatively large cants into a plurality of boards. The boards are fed into the apparatus on edge, being maintained as a group. A bumper in the path of the sawn boards limits their longitudinal travel. Laterally shiftable flipper assemblies can be adjusted under the boards so as to segregate side cuts as required for each individual operation. The movable picket of each flipper assembly is shiftable vertically to form inclined surfaces that guide the side cuts to opposite sides of the conveyor apparatus. Vertical guides maintain the center boards in an upright condition until the bumper is lowered and the boards continue along their desired longitudinal path.

United States Patent Willows 51 Aug. 29,- 1972 [541 EDGING PICKER [72]Inventor: James D. Willows, Lewiston, Idaho [73] Assignee: PotlatchForests, Inc., San Francisco, Calif.

[22] Filed: Jan. 20, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 108,011

[52] US. Cl. ..198/24, 143/157 D, 143/157 E,

198/127 [51] Int. Cl ..B27b 5/28, B65g 13/02, 865g 47/74 [58] Field ofSearch ..198/24, 127, 20; 143/157 D,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 996,386 6/1911 Williams..143/157 E Primary ExaminerEdward A. Sroka AttorneyWells, St. John &Roberts [57] ABSTRACT An edging picker for use in conjunction with adouble arbor edger or any machine that saws relatively large cants intoa plurality of boards. The boards are fed into the apparatus on edge,being maintained as a group. A bumper in the path of the sawn boardslimits their longitudinal travel. Laterally shiftable flipper assembliescan be adjusted under the boards so as to segregate side cuts asrequired for each individual operation. The movable picket of eachflipper assembly is shiftable vertically to form inclined surfaces thatguide the side cuts to opposite sides of the conveyor apparatus.Vertical guides maintain the center boards in an upright condition untilthe bumper is lowered and the boards continue along their desiredlongitudinal path.

10 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMIQQ 1972 SHEET 1 0F 5 INVENTOR.JAMES o WILLOWS P'ATENTEBwszs m2 SHEET '4 OF 5 sum 5 or 5 PATENTi-imuszsI972 Fig. 7

INVENTOR. JAMES D. WILLOW AT T Yd.

EDGING PICKER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention results fromthe development of automated equipment for sawing cants into boards bythe use of multiple parallel saws, such as in a double arbor edger. Suchmachinery is designed for extremely highspeed operation and theequipment used to segregate the full-width center boards in the sawncant must be capable of accomodating such production speeds. It isfurther desirable that the positioning of the board separating elementsbe carried on simultaneously during reception of the cant in theapparatus.

Prior edging pickers have been primarily concerned with the separationof rough wanes or edges from boards positioned on their side andreceived from an edger. Most such devices have included uprightseparating blades or fences which are typically moved in conjunctionwith the edging saws so as to be aligned with the kerf of the boards asthey emerge from the edger. Such an arrangement is suitable for edgersthat incorporate transversely movable saws, but cannot readily adapt tomultiple arbor edgers which do not utilize movable saws. In suchinstallation it is necessary that the choice of boards to be removedfrom the sawn cant be made anytime during sawing or after the boardsemerge from the edger. This eliminates the possibility of using aseparating blade or fence to segregate the side boards from those offull width at the center of the cant.

Examples of prior patents that use upright blades or fences for edgingsegregation are the following: US. Pat. Nos. 2,353,239; 3,017,909;3,101,754; 3,101,755, and 3,139,125. In addition, a slab-handlingapparatus for removing side slabs from a log is shown in US. Pat. No.3,205,924.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention disclosed herein essentiallycomprises a conveyor that defines a longitudinal path of travel forlumber, a stop selectively movable into the path of the lumber,transverse flipper means recessed under the conveyor behind the stopmeans, means for shifting the flipper means transversely and poweredmeans for elevating the inner ends of the flipper means above theconveyor to segregate edgings from lumber located centrally along theconveyor.

It is a first object of this invention to provide a relatively simpleedging picker that can accomodate highspeed production of a double-arboredger or similar apparatus for sawing large cants into parallel boards.

Another object of this invention is to provide an edger picker which canbe adjusted laterally after partial or complete reception of the sawncant within the apparatus.

Another object of this invention is to eliminate the necessity ofproviding intersecting blades or fences along an edging pickerapparatus.

These and further objects will be evident from the following disclosure,taken along with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferredform of the invention. 7 r

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of theconveyor rollcase of the lumber edging picker apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus as seen in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional elevation taken along line 3-3 inFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional elevation taken along line 4-4 inFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional elevation taken along line5-5 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional elevation taken along line6-6 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of the outfeed end of the rollcaseillustrating the operation of the stop means;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cant as it leaves thedouble arbor edger;

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 8 showing theflippers in operational position; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view similar to FIGS. 8 and 9showing operation of the flippers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,10 designates a conveyor in the form of a rollcase table with a doublearbor edger 11 located at the infeed end. The conveyor 10 includes siderails 12 supported at the infeed end by the double arbor edger 11 and atthe outfeed end by support legs 13. Powered rollers 14 are positionedbetween the side rails 12.

The double arbor edger 11 may be of conventional construction, and ispositioned in the usual lumber processing line to receive preparedcants. The cant leaves the double arbor edger 11 in the form of aplurality of upright parallel boards. Powered side press rolls 15 drawthe cant out of the edger 11 onto the conveyor 10, maintaining inwardpressure on the boards by means of air cylinders 16. The boards alongthe center portion of the cant are held vertical by a top press roll 17,the downward pressure being supplied by an air cylinder 18. The aircylinder 18 is double-acting and is alternately used to raise the toppress roll 17.

Also included on the conveyor 10 are six flipper assemblies 20 whichremove the side cuts or edgings laterally from the rollcase table, abumper 21 to hold the cant in position on the rollcase table until theflipper assemblies 20 have operated, and a set works 22 which shifts theflipper assemblies to accomodate different width cants.

The six flipper assemblies 20 are arranged in three longitudinallyspaced groups of two each. In each group the two flipper assemblies 20are opposite and generally symmetrical about the center line of conveyor10. Only one flipper assembly 20 will be described as the constructionand operation is typical to all.

Each flipper assembly 20 has a normally horizontal elongated plate 23hereafter referred to as the picker (FIGS. 3, 4, and 5). The picker 23rests upon a support 24 that slidably guides its outer free end. Thesupport 24 is fixed to the side rail 12. The inner end of the picker 23is pivotally connected at 26 to the outer end of a piston rod movablymounted by an upright air cylinder 25. Also connected to the aircylinder 25 and The function of guide 27 is to provide vertical supportfor the boards at the center portion of the cant while the edgings areremoved.

The flipper assemblies 20 are transversely movable relative to theconveyor. A transverse beam 30 extends across the side rails 12 adjacenteach group of flipper assemblies. The cylinders 25 are suspended frombeams 30 by slidable angle plates 31. Fixed to each plate 31 is a clip32 and a hanger 35 carried by slidable brackets 34. The hanger 35 is ahorizontal base for the air cylinder 25.

The flipper assemblies 20 are transversely adjustable for differentwidth cants by means of the set works 22. Located on the outer face ofthe side rails 12 is a common shaft 36 on which are mounted a pluralityof sprockets 37. The stacked cylinders 38 supply power to rotate theshafts 36. The flipper cylinders 25 are interlocked with the setworksstacked cylinders 38 to prevent shifting while the pickers 23 are in theup position. Transverse chains 40 are in meshing connection to oppositesprockets 37 and fixed to the flipper assemblies 20. A horseshoe typebracket 41 is fixed to each bracket 34 and each terminating end of therespective chains 40. There is one set of sprockets 37 and a chain 40for each of the flipper assemblies 20 and for each set of stackedcylinders 38. The chains 40 are fed through apertures 42 in the siderails 12 (FIGS. 5, 6). When the stacked cylinders 38 rotate thesprockets 37 by means of the shaft 36 the chains 40 move the flipperassemblies 20 in their desired positions for handling wide or narrowcants.

Situated above shafts 36 are sloping longitudinal guides 43 which areparallel to the side rails 12. As the edgings are picked they slide downthe guides.

The operation of bumper 21, which serves as a stop means, is shownschematically in FIG. 7. The bumper 21 is shown in its normal raised orup position. An air cylinder 44 is operatively connected to an arm 45which rotates about a shaft 46. The crank arm 33 fixed to shaft 46 isoperatively connected to the lower end of the bumper 21. In normalposition the bumper 21 is elevated above the surface plane of therollers 14 in order to halt longitudinal movement of a cant 47. When therear end of the cant 47 passes a transverse electric eye 48, (FIG. 1)the air cylinder 44 is activated in part of a sequential series. The aircylinder 44 then rotates the arm 45 which lowers bumper 21, allowing thesawn and edged cant 47 to move on. The recessed position of the bumper21 is indicated by broken lines in FIG. 7. The boards move onto anotherconveyor 52 for further processing. A second transverse electric eyelocated at 50 raises the bumper 21 to stop the next oncoming cant afterbeing tripped by passage of the rear of cant 47.

The operation of the abovedescribed invention is described below withreference particularly to schematic FIGS. 8-10 as a supplement to themore detailed disclosure of FIGS. 1-7.

As the cant 47 leaves the double arbor edger 11, inward pressure isapplied by the side rolls to keep the fresh sawn boards vertical whilethe cant is extracted. The rolls are driven by the edger feed works (notshown) and inward pressure is applied by the air cylinders 16. Thecenter portion of the cant 47 is held vertical by the top press roll 17as the cant 47 moves further down the conveyor rollcase 10. The aircylinder 18 maintains downward pressure of the top press roll 17.

The flipper assemblies 20 are shown in FIG. 8 positioned for a narrowcant and with the pickers 23 down. The setworks 22 are positionedlaterally by an operator who triggers the stacked cylinders 38.Cylinders 38 move the flipper assemblies 20 through sprockets 37 and thechains 40 along the respective shafts 36, which transversely move theflipper assemblies 20 in opposite lateral directions to the selectedspread positions show in FIG. 9. The lateral positions of flipperassemblies 20 may be accomplished at any time that they are recessedbeneath rollers 14.

When the rear of the cant 47 passes the electric eye 48 a sequence ofthree events are initiated through suitable control devices.

First, the top press roll 17 is raised by the air cylinder 18. If thecant is of sufficient length, it will engage bumper 21, although shortcants do not normally reach the bumper.

Secondly, the air cylinders 25 are activated, which elevates the inneredges of the pickers 23 and raises the pivotally depending supportguides 27 to maintain vertical orientation of the boards 47a at thecenter of cant 47. The free outer ends of the pickers 23 are notelevated, forming diagonal planes along the inclined pickers 23. Theouter edgings or wanes 47b are raised with movement of the pickers 23and then proceed to slide outwardly and downwardly on the pickers 23 andthe slides 43 by gravitational force. The edgings 47b drop onto areceiving conveyor generally indicated at 51. Conveyor 51 carries theedgings 47b away for reclamation or disposal. The pickers 23 are shownin up position by dashed lines in FIGS. 35 and in full lines in FIG. 10.The stacked cylinders 38 and the air cylinders 25 are interlocked toprevent simultaneous operation. This insures that pickers 23 cannotraise while the flipper assemblies 20 are being shifted. Also theflipper assemblies 20 cannot be shifted while the pickers 23 are beingoperated.

Thirdly, the bumper 21 is lowered by the activation of the air cylinder44 which moves the arm 45 (FIG. 7). This allows the plurality ofparallel vertical boards 47a to span the interval between the outfeedend of the picking conveyor and the infeed end of the conveyor 52. Asthe boards 47a travel on the conveyor 52 to be further processed, thetransverse electric eye 50 is activated by their passing. The trippedelectric eye 50 restores the bumper 21 to its normal position ready tohalt the next cant.

Summarizing some of the important features of the invention, it shouldbe noted that the picking operation of removing wane is automatic. Thestructure of the flipper assemblies is such that a compact structureresults, and the picker can be mounted below the rollers that transportthe boards. Also, different width cants can be accomodated by themovable features of the flipper assemblies. The apparatus accommodatessome delay in the following movement of the trailing section, and forthis reason a close spacing of consecutive cants traveling along theapparatus is possible.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or thescope of the following claims. Having thus described my invention, Iclaim: 1. Apparatus for removing edgings from lumber comprising:

conveyor means defining a longitudinal path of travel for the lumber;stop means selectively movable into the path of the lumber forselectively interrupting travel of the lumber along said conveyor means;transverse flipper means recessed beneath said conveyor means atlocations rearward of said stop means; means mounting said flipper meansfor shifting of said flipper means transversely of the path of thelumber; and powered means operatively connected to said flipper meansfor selectively elevating the inner ends thereof above said conveyormeans for segregating edgings located above said flipper means fromlumber located transversely therebetween.

2. An apparatus as set out in claim 1 wherein said stop means comprisesa transverse upright gate movable between a first position recessedbeneath said conveyor means and a second position elevated above saidconveyor means and interposed across the path of the lumber.

3. An apparatus as set out in claim 1 wherein said flipper meanscomprises:

a plurality of paired transverse plates extending inwardly from therespective sides of said conveyor means and terminating along inneredges aligned parallel to the path of the lumber;

and individual powered cylinders operatively connected to the undersideof each plate adjacent its inner edge.

4. An apparatus as set out in claim 3 wherein each plate pivotallysupports an upright plate depending therefrom along its inner edge aboutan axis parallel to the path of the lumber;

and upright guides on said conveyor means slidably engaged by saidupright plates to maintain said upright plates in vertical orientationsduring movement of said flipper means.

5. An edging picker mounted along the outfeed of a lumber edger thatsaws upright parallel boards from two sided cants, comprising:

a longitudinal rollcase having a plurality of parallel powered rolls formoving transversely arranged sawn boards along a straight path leadingfrom the edger;

recessed transverse flipper means mounted to said rollcase betweenselected rolls for selective elevational movement relative to the rollsand engagement at the underside of side boards formed from a sawn cantand supported on the rolls;

and powered means on said rollcase operatively connected to said flippermeans for selectively elevating said flipper means above said rolls tothereby lift selected side boards from the rolls and segregate theselected side boards from the remainder of a sawn cant supported by saidrolls along said path.

6. The apparatus set out in claim 5 wherein said flipper meanscomprises:

paired transverse plates extending inwardly from the respective sides ofsaid rollcase and having upwardly facing top surfaces movable between afirst position recessed beneath the top of said rolls and a secondposition wherein the inner edges of said plates are elevated above thetop of said rolls.

7. The apparatus set out in claim 6 wherein said powered meanscomprises:

individual upright cylinder assemblies mounted for transverse movementacross said rollcase beneath each plate, the respective cylinderassemblies being operatively connected to said plates adjacent the plateinner edges to selectively shift the top surfaces of said plates betweensaid first and second positions.

8. The apparatus set out in claim 7 further comprismg:

setworks means operatively connected between the cylinder assemblies andsaid rollcase for selectively positioning said cylinder assemblies andthe plates operatively connected thereto relative to the centerline ofsaid straight path.

9. An apparatus as set out in claim 6 wherein each plate pivotallysupports an upright plate depending therefrom along its inner edge aboutan axis parallel to said straight path;

and upright guides on said rollcase slidably engaged by said uprightplates to maintain said upright plates perpendicular to the tops of saidrolls during elevational movement of the inner edges of said transverseplates.

10. The apparatus as set out in claim 5 further comprises:

stop means mounted to said rollcase forwardly of said flipper means;

and powered means operatively connected between said rollcase and saidstop means for selectively interposing said stop means across therollcase immediately above said rolls to thereby control longitudinalmovement of boards supported thereon.

1. Apparatus for removing edgings from lumber comprising: conveyor meansdefining a longitudinal path of travel for the lumber; stop meansselectively movable into the path of the lumber for selectivelyinterrupting travel of the lumber along said conveyor means; transverseflipper means recessed beneath said conveyor means at locations rearwardof said stop means; means mounting said flipper means for shifting ofsaid flipper means transversely of the path of the lumber; and poweredmeans operatively connected to said flipper means for selectivelyelevating the inner ends thereof above said conveyor means forsegregating edgings located above said flipper means from lumber locatedtransversely therebetween.
 2. An apparatus as set out in claim 1 whereinsaid stop means comprises a transverse upright gate movable between afirst position recessed beneath said conveyor means and a secondposition elevated above said conveyor means and interposed across thepath of the lumber.
 3. An apparatus as set out in claim 1 wherein saidflipper means comprises: a plurality of paired transverse platesextending inwardly from the respective sides of said conveyor means andterminating along inner edges aligned parallel to the path of thelumber; and individual powered cylinders operatively connected to theunderside of each plate adjacent its inner edge.
 4. An apparatus as setout in claim 3 wherein each plate pivotally supports an upright platedepending therefrom along its inner edge about an axis parallel to thepath of the lumber; and upright guides on said conveyor means slidablyengaged by said upright plates to maintain said upright plates invertical orientations during movement of said flipper means.
 5. Anedging picker mounted along the outfeed of a lumber edger that sawsupright parallel boards from two sided cants, comprising: a longitudinalrollcase having a plurality of parallel powered rolls for movingtransversely arranged sawn boards along a straight path leading from theedger; recessed transverse flipper means mounted to said rollcasebetween selected rolls for selective elevational movement relative tothe rolls and engagement at the underside of side boards formed from asawn cant and supported on the rolls; and powered means on said rollcaseoperatively connected to said flipper means for selectively elevatingsaid flipper means above said rolls to thereby lift selected side boardsfrom the rolls and segregate the selected side boards from the remainderof a sawn cant supported by said rolls along said path.
 6. The apparatusset out in claim 5 wherein said flipper means comprises: pairedtransverse plates extending inwardly from the respective sides of saidrollcase and having upwardly facing top surfaces movable between a firstposition recessed beneath the top of said rolls and a second positionwherein the inner edges of said plates are elevated above the top ofsaid rolls.
 7. The apparatus set out in claim 6 wherein said poweredmeans comprises: individual upright cylinder assemblies mounted fortransverse movement across said rollcase beneath each plate, therespective cylinder assemblies being operatively connected to saidplates adjacent the plate inner edges to selectively shift the topsurfaces of said plates between said first and second positions.
 8. Theapparatus set out in claim 7 further comprising: setworks meansoperatively connected between the cylinder assemblies and said rollcasefor selectively positioning said cylinder assemblies and the platesoperatively connected thereto relative to the centerline of saidstraight path.
 9. An apparatus as set out in claim 6 wherein each platepivotally supports an upright plate depending therefrom along its inneredge about an axis parallel to said straight path; and upright guides onsaid rollcase slidably engaged by said upright plates to maintain saidupright plates perpendicular to the tops of said rolls duringelevational movement of the inner edges of said transverse plates. 10.The apparatus as set out in claim 5 further comprises: stop meansmounted to said rollcase forwardly of said flipper means; and poweredmeans operatively connected between said rollcase and said stop meansfor selectively interposing said stop means across the rollcaseimmediately above said rolls to thereby control longitudinal movement ofboards supported thereon.